The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1887-07-14
CreOsOte.

Col. w. 2. Canaday. of North Caro-
lima, sergeant-at arms of the United
States senate. besides being politician.
knows great deal about creosote and
how 1t is made. The colonel is a tall.
tlne-looking man, as straight as a pine
tree of his state, and full of vim and
energy. He gave n reporter some
facts about creosote the other day at
the Fifth Avenue hotel He said:
-'Cr5osoting wood that has to be used
in damp places is the only method to
preserve it from the decaying effects
OF water and the insidious attacks of
the teredo worm. Creosote is general
name applied to the products obtained
from the destructive distillation of
wood, coal, and other carbonaceous
fuels after the temperature has risen
above 200 or 800 degrees Fahrenheit.
The oil thus obtained is termed creosote
oil and is an excellent preservative of
wood. The philosophy of its anti
septic and preServativc qualities is
simple. The oil cholscs up the pores
of the wood, making il solid and pre-
venting the further entrance of air,
moisture or life. No germinal life
can exist in wood thoroughly creosoted,
and the fatal teredO worm dies from
the effects of the oil. You see
the oil contains insoluble tar
acids, not only antiseptic iii their
nature, but also possess the power of
coa@ulating the albuminous or ferment-
ing elements of green, sappy, or I'M
seasoned wood. How is creosote made
from pine?-We heavily-resined fatty
pine wood, subjected to heat of 800
to 760 degrees Fahrenheit within closed
iron cylinders, yields by distillation
anu condensation an excellent wood
creosote oil, suitable for the preserva-
tion of wood. When this oil is ana
lyzcd it is found to contain about d per
cent. of tar acids, about Is per cent.
of the lighter oils, and at least so per
cent. of the heavier oils, insOluble in
either fresh, brackish, or salt water
Experience shows that preservation of
timber is mainly Que to those creosote
oils which require over 400 degrees
Fahrenheit for their volatilization,
and'that the pure. .creOscte, with less tar
aciOs and with less light oils, gives the
best results. CreOsote oil is forced in
to Ood by means of hydraulic press
ure. The Improvements made upon
the eharring processes are very great.
There is Il carbonized process which
takes ordinary open grained pine
timler and subjects it to dry, radiant
heag, within suitable cylindrical sur
faces, in such manner as to drive out
Of tie timber most Of the sap and album
moss matter, drying the inside of the
timber, charTiug its outside and Ieav-
inc lhc wood with lis pores wide open
and in condition to be completely filed
wita the oil. This process does not
render he timber brittle. How much
oil i required? Sawed lumber only
requires eight pounds per cubic foot.
In logs used for Piling twelve pounds
of creosote oil per cubic foot is all that
Is necessary for its preservation.
DUrI.g the manufacture of creosote
oil yroligneous acid is condensed
in ,hc SIN. The acid in its
cvs-.=e and gp3;dted state t. an e1-
collent disiuIectaut The progress
made in crcoSoting timber within the
past few years has been so great it
would be unsafe to predict to what ex-
tent it viii be carried. Wood viii be
be made more lasting than any build
ing material. ."-NeU York HuiL and